Northfield and North Pole. They both start with ‘North’. You would think that is about the limit of the similarity between my constituency and Santa’s home. Not this year. For two days just before Christmas, Northfield High Street was dominated by a giant inflatable snowman. Across the square, complete with snow machine creating a not-too-cold blizzard, were two Christmas scenes. One even broke …
My political highlight of the year – published in The House Magazine’s Year in Review.
Thank you to all the local schools who took part in this year’s Northfield Christmas Card Competition.
Congratulations to 10 year old Eboni Green from St. Brigid’s Catholic Primary School for designing the winning image (left) in my constituency Christmas competition.
Long term unemployment remains stubbornly high in Birmingham and the government’s Work Programme is not lifting a finger to help.
The Labour Market Statistics for November 2012 were published yesterday.
The Chancellor should use this week’s Autumn Statement to cancel the government’s new year 3p per litre petrol tax rise that will hit local people hard when it comes into force on 1st January 2013. At a time when the cost of living is rising, our recovery is fragile and this out of touch government is giving 8,000 millionaires an average tax cut of over £107,000, it cannot be right to hit middle …
The International Development Committee has today published a new report on UK aid to Rwanda.
The report says that the UK should not provide general budget support to Rwanda in future since, according to the recent UN report, the Government there is continuing to support the M23 Rebel Group fighting in the DRC.
I was Labour Member of Parliament for Birmingham Northfield between 1992 and 2019 and a former Shadow Transport Minister. I now chair Healthwatch in Birmingham and Solihull, and the West Midlands Board of Remembering Srebrenica. I also work as a public affairs consultant. I am an effective community advocate and stakeholder alliance builder with a passion for human rights. I am a trustee of the Balfour Project charity and of Citizens Advice Birmingham, and a former Chair of Medical Aid for Palestinians.